We are thankful to report that the four American Sweet Crude filmmakers have been safely returned to the U.S. after being detained by the Nigerian military while traveling in the Niger Delta.  Joel Bisina, founder of GCJ partner Niger Delta Professionals for Development, has returned to his home in Warri, and should be coming to the U.S. in early May.

Director Sandy Cioffi, producer Tammi Sims and photojournalists Sean Porter and Cliff Worsham were in Nigeria to finish the documentary Sweet Crude, about the effects of oil production on the people and environment of the Niger Delta.

In preparation for our Burundi journey, a dedicated Water Team has been created for the purpose of investigating great options for bringing water to Carama, and to gather, sort and process the huge amount of information on the subject. Last week Brock, Wes, Deborah and Prosper consulted with Llyn, a hydrologist who works with Engineers Without Borders.  They determined that a complete water and sanitation plan is something that the village needs and GCJ would like to make that an explicit goal of our journey.  Prosper will work with the Carama village to establish a Water & Sanitation Team when gets back later month, and together we will identify a series of phases for this larger project and identify the first high priority components that we can focus on within the resources we can raise.  Several of our US Water Team members hope to go to Carama this summer to investigate and coordinate more fully so that we can be ready with a clear plan of action and wise priorities for summer '09.

An update from Ryan Hauck, a former GCJ delegate to the Niger Delta in 2005 who has not only maintained the connection he made, but who has also paved the way for his students to connect.

Ryan's work has helped to establish a new connection between Quil Ceda (Marysville) elementary school and the primary school in Oporoza, Nigeria. A 3^rd grade class at the elementary school wrote letters to 23 primary students in Oporoza after Ryan went into the class and showed slides, discussing life in Oporoza, and teaching the receptive students some Ijaw language and a popular Nigerian song.

Ryan then traveled for the fifth time back to Nigeria this past November, laden with the unbelievable amount of clothing, books, school supplies, toiletries, medical supplies, PE equipment, toys, etc., that were donated by the parents of the 3^rd grade class. Once in Oporoza, he spent a great deal of time in the primary school, teaching a lesson and helping the students to respond individually to each of the letter written from the Quil Ceda 3^rd graders. (The Quil Ceda 3^rd graders have since responded, and their letters were taken back to Oporoza by Joel Bisina)

Meanwhile, the high school students at Marysville-Pilchuck High School are continuing to establish their "sister-school" relationship with students in the Secondary School in Oporoza. Currently they are in the process of raising funds to support the purchase of novels, poetry, and non-fiction books that are part of the Nigerian curriculum, but are not available to the students there.

Now that there is a working internet system in Oporoza, students at MPHS are looking forward to more regular communication and building on the relationship they have been cultivating. There is a possibility of using a joint curriculum from the Giraffe Project, which is centered around service learning and empowers students to learn from authentic voices who have been a catalyst for change. This curriculum hopes to give students the background and skills to be actively engaged in the local and global communities to initiate positive change.